The reads program is a district-wide initiative to increase student literacy. 1 title is selected as the “District Read” of the year and is promoted in all of the secondary schools across Burnaby. This year, the selected book is The Hate you Give by Angie Thomas, an important story about police brutality and the black lives matter movement. Though it was just released in 2017, its popularity is evident as it is currently being turned into a movie, was on the National Book Award Longlist, and just won the William C. Morris Award.

The other 9 titles are chosen to reflect the individual interests of each school and cover diverse topics and genres. To learn more about this year’s pics at Alpha, check out the library’s blog here.